How clean are your products?

I just met with a dear friend Katie Mamuad because she wanted me to "give my blessing" on a business she is starting. Means a lot to me when people care about my knowledge I have on Organic living, eating and the products we use on a daily basis. She treated me to coffee as well, the girl knows how to win over my heart 

Long story short, I did give my blessing to be the "Next Tarah Carr of Okinawa" as she says.... and for quite a few reasons. It's just as important what we put ON our skin as what we consume within our food.

Obviously, I love what I do as a health & fitness coach so I'm not going to jump into her business but she WILL have a customer for taking the time to break everything down for me. (A bonus was, they have a fearless faith as a company... BONUS CHECK IN THE BOX WITH ME)

Did you know that most franchises cost over $250,000 to start up?

-McDonalds: $300,000
-Taco Bell: $1.2 - $1.7M for 3
-Dunkin Donuts: $1.5M for 5

and they cause cancer.

Pick a company you WANT to do business with that is not going to BREAK your bank account. I partnered with one that cost no more that $140 and Katie is representing one that's $139.... which you get to keep and use EVERYTHING for that price that's organic and PURE. My investment? Well- it retired my husband 12 years early...

Don't be desperate for just any opportunity.. pick one you BELIEVE in and can support that has integrity while making an IMPACT in this world...

No inventory, create your own hours, be your own boss, and choose who you work with.

What's that thing in your life that you are missing? Time freedom? Flexibility? Want to give more? Pay off debt? BE with your kids?

If your current l.i.f.e isn't meeting your dreams...maybe it's time understand that LIFE is full of opportunities so, WHY limit yourself like it's a square with four corners? DREAM!

A little about this company I learned about: It's called Lemongrass spa products..


I was quite impressed with how much they offer! Any kind of skin care that you can imagine that they test on people, not animals. Their packaging can be recycled or reused to provide sustainability to our environment.. plus for me :) Their packing peanuts are made of natural cornstarch that dissolves in water. It is all phthalate-free, colorants are from natural sources and their essential oils are organically grown from farms around the world yet hand made & put together in Colorado. Everything was gluten free and cruelty-free (big plus in my book) while they only have 3 ingredients I didn't care too much for however their shelf life is only 6 months long so without using less than 1% of them in certain products it would lower the shelf life even more.. I'm okay with that :)

SKIN is the largest organ of our body... I have zero make up on in this picture minus an organic eyebrow pencil and I attribute how clear it is to what I eat organically and not using harsh chemicals on my skin.

I am anxious to try out their make-up line for the days I do want a splash of color ;) I felt like the prices were extremely reasonable for how little I would be using it!

This one was BIG for me....  deodorant! I use primal pit paste right now but am interested to see how this one works! I'm all for making my shopping easier in one place if I can! They use cocoa butter, beeswax and tea tree essential oil. It contains NO aluminum or propylene gel! 

I am a SUCKER for bath salts and body polishes.. I use them almost every other day! My first question was.... HOW DO THESE ACHIEVE THEIR COLOR?? I was happy to hear it was from natural veggies or fruit extracts! 

The handcrafted soap had me at that wooden soap dish holder... I get excited about little things...

I was pretty sad when I found out the "all natural" hand soap I had been using for my family had DYES in it and gosh.... the list is LONG of chemicals... none the less... I do EXTENSIVE reviews on EVERYTHING we use now (which most, is hand made from myself!) Check out this label... YUCK! After that... Melaleuca lost me as a customer :/

I smelled the one from here though and it was amazing. It contains a handful of natural ingredients. SOLD. 

I could go on and on about why I fell in love with these products (And no, I don't make a dime off of endorsing this). My word and integrity means so much to me.... and so does what YOU put into your body... or ON it. I PURGED my house long ago of any chemically filled ingredients and I hope you do your research and do as well!  If you want to check them out- the store is ---> here! 

If you have ANY questions.. contact my friend Katie Mamuad.... the woman KNOWS her stuff & would be happy to help you! Her WHY all started when her mom had cancer this year and she refused to stay ignorant as to what was going into her families body. She got on Shakeology, took my organic commissary tour and now is cleaning the outside of their bodies! The business is debt-free, 11 years old but doesn't have their first millionaire yet- If Katie DOES want to be the "next Tarah Carr" of Lemongrass spa, I see 6 zero's in her families future <3 Thanks for the coffee today friend!!!! XOXOXO

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Organic homemade chicken nuggets- The secret Carr recipe

I'm terrible at keeping awesome recipes as secrets.... you know, the person at the party with the AWESOME dish but they won't share because it's a Family Secret....lame.

I'll share with you anything that works in this household! For years I couldn't find the toddler approved Chicken Nugget recipe. One that was Organic, NON- GMO, not full of sugar and didn't take hours to make. What's a mom to do other than create one?

Here's my creation! The most magical nuggets that will touch your taste buds. (Okay- so my 5 year old says that!)
Things you will need:

- An incredibly handsome, awesome husband to save time 
-  3 TBSP organic coconut milk
- 3 large organic eggs
- 1 cup organic coconut flour <--- Which is high in fiber and GREAT for kids especially!
- 1 tsp organic pumpkin pie seasoning (I like Frontier)...You can even use a dash of Organic Red Ape cinnamon...
- 1 box Organic heritage NON GMO cereal
- Vitamix or meat tenderizer to crush cereal into powder
- 2 lbs (We like to make this for the whole week!) of organic thawed chicken
- a spray bottle of organic coconut oil 
- Natural unbleached parchment paper 
- 3 bowls for ingredients
- 2 plates, one for raw chicken and one for finished chicken
- Toaster oven will do! <---- we can't rave enough about that one!

Preheat oven the 375. Cook time is 30 minutes. 


Step 1: Combine coconut flour & pumpkin pie spice together in a bowl. Place 1st in the assembly line.
Step 2: Combine Coconut milk, eggs and whisk together in a bowl. Place 2nd in the assembly line. 
Step 3: Blend up the Heritage cereal in the Vitamix dry blade OR take something like a meat tenderizer and grind until it's a fine powder. (Hey- it worked for me until I owned that fancy gem!)
Step 4: Pour the cereal into a bowl. Place 3rd in the assembly line.
Step 5: Cut up the chicken into SMALL bite sized pieces. 
Step 6: Roll the chicken into Bowl #1 (Flour)
Step 7: Dip it entirely into bowl #2 (Eggs and milk)
Step 8: Roll entirely into bowl #3 (Cereal flakes) 
Step 9: Finish the entire batch of prepping. If you have a partner to help, as they finish 20 of them start cooking them for them! 

Cover the pan with parchment paper. Spray the pan with coconut oil. 

Cook for 30 minutes at 375. My kids like them crispy!

Dipping sauces you can use:
- Raw organic honey
- Organic BBQ (we make ours and store canned in mason jars! 
- Organic Annie's mustard mixed with organic raw honey.. TADA honey mustard! 
- Organic Ketchup (we make ours and store canned in mason jars as well!) 
For storage:

We LOVE our food saver! It vacuums all the air out of the bags. We store them 20 at a time in the freezer for the remaining week! 

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Does your kid focus?

It feels like it was yesterday that I was leaving the hospital with my sweet bundle of joy! Being my first born son, I had no idea what I was doing! Thankfully things like breast feeding, late night rocking sessions and well, mommy hood naturally kicked in.

As Noah started to get older I noticed he had a hard time focusing and talking. Instead of being in denial about him being behind, I decided to be proactive to teach him in other ways. I started to teach myself baby sign language and right before my eyes this once frustrated little boy was communicating with me wearing a smile. You can watch this video when he was almost two years old. For being a two year old, he had a lot of life changing moments that occurred often. Like daddy going on deployments every other month. I always tried to be compassionate about how hard that must be to process at such a young age. He received a dog before every deployment. Yeah- I really mean a lot of life changing moments… 

To this day, I am so impressed with how far he has come. We did a year of speech therapy and a year of occupational therapy from the age of 25 months up until his 3rd birthday. His therapist always told me after the sessions "He just needs to work on FOCUSING more. If he could just FOCUS, he would do so much better." 

How do you teach a child to focus??? You change their diet.

A typical breakfast for Noah is always something from scratch. In fact, everything he eats is homemade and doesn't come from a box. It doesn't contain any dyes, artificial ingredients and we limit his gluten. It's amazing what food can do. These were homemade sweet potato pancakes he requested on his 3rd birthday topped with fresh organic strawberries and local Okinawa raw honey. I wasn't always like this. I lived in a world of convenience which is why I have this before and after story myself, that's another story though.. 

Although his hyper behavior toned down quite a bit with diet alone, the ONE moment I was always nervous about was sending him off to Kindergarten. I was not going to be there to protect him or sign out words when he felt stuck. And that's when the color chart started….

Everyone starts the day off on GREEN which means, ready to start! Perfect- the only problem is Noah quickly dropped DOWN in colors rather than UP. He wasn't paying attention, talking too much in class and not doing his homework unless he had one-on-one time with his teacher. He was failing his spelling tests and crying at home for being in the purple time out zone. On a whim, I remembered that I bought him an herbal supplement before school started called "Focus Factor". It was just in case I felt he needed it. I was ready to try this bad boy out!

I found it on Amazon and it arrived so quick to our APO box living overseas. He took 2 wafers a day and within 7 days he was improving leaps and bounds. I literally could NOT believe it. AMEN a solution had been FOUND. At least that's what I thought..

I had to fly out in September for a total of 30 days. This was the longest I have EVER been away from my children and I will NEVER do it again. It was so hard but at the same time this was much needed alone time with my husband! He had just returned back from a 10 month deployment in Afghanistan and personal time with 2 young boys is almost non-existent. I hit the highest rank you can achieve right after he came home with a Health & Fitness company called Beachbody. Between interviews, photo shoots, helicopter tours and fine dining with fellow colleagues, my mind was at ease knowing my children were in good hands with Grandma Carr in Japan. 

My husband returned back to our home a week before I did, while I flew to another conference in Dallas Texas. I LOVE teaching other people how to live an empowering life, how to live a healthy lifestyle and how to pay it forward. However, I love being present with my family more. More often than not, I was on Skype with them making those sweet faces giggle.

Little did I know that outside of our Skype sessions, Noah was dropping back into the lower colors. No one wants to stress mom out, right??!?! So wrong :P

Noah's behavior was so out of sorts when I returned back to the island. Crying over everything. Frustrated when I would breathe to loud or stuttering to get his point across. My two year old Jonah was still the same…. showing me how he can pick his nose. 

I felt so helpless. On my 2nd day back he received a letter home from his teacher. It was so long. It explained how he went to the Principle's office that day and how this was completely NOT like Noah. He been been in the bad colors a week shortly after I left. I went home and had a heart-to-heart with Noah. I asked him what I should do if he didn't listen the next day and he replied "throw away one of my toys." Ouch! The poor little guy can be so hard on himself. I didn't want to do that, in fact- all I wanted to do was help him focus again. That day, I surprised him at school during lunch…...

 He ran to me with the biggest hug. I asked him where he was on the class colored chart, he SMIRKED! He pointed to the purple color which is the 2nd to last before the principle's office. That meant he went into time out ALREADY! He told me he was not listening because his brain couldn't focus… I just didn't know how to process all of this and told him we would talk after school was over.

It hit me like a deer in headlights while talking with my husband (aka The vitamin dispenser) that NO ONE WAS GIVING HIM HIS FOCUS FACTOR, HE WAS OUT!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

After school he got in the car and said "well, no movie for me and you are going to throw one of my toys away, right mom?" I looked at Adam with almost tears in my eyes and I said "Nope, tonight buddy we are having a PARTY! We are going to decorate for Christmas, bake cookies, watch a movie and work on your spelling words okay??" He looked so confused and said "Why mom? I was bad and didn't focus?" I felt so sad that he felt like not being able to focus meant he was bad. Of course it's not. I grew up never being able to focus in school. I failed almost every class I took unless I was passionate about the topic. Which was dance class and frowned upon in science or history. Although I never went to college, I know I will be a self made millionaire by the age of 27. I am almost there, it just took me finding something I am passionate about and that's coaching other people. I know until Noah gets through high school he will have similar struggles like I did. Do you know why? His passion is dancing too… which is why we have a "dance party Friday" ever since he found his rhythm. 

How did I let that happen before leaving? I felt terrible and ordered it that very moment. 

Noah is back to Noah. I am OFFICIALLY a firm believer. His focus is 100% there and he has been in the outstanding red color, ready to start or awesome… EVERY DAY SINCE! He is also now READING. YES, READING. I can't believe it. No actually, I can! Watch how stinking CUTE and SMART he is! 

I chose focus factor simply because of the ingredients. I don't believe in medication and am a true hippie at heart. It is manufactured with all natural excipients, has no preservatives, no artificial coloring and no caffeine.  It is also sweetened with natural cane sugar. If you know me personally, you know I won't recommend anything unless it personally effects me in a good way. This along with a serving of Shakeology has changed Noah's life! 

I am sure you can buy this in health food stores but so far the Amazon store has not disappointed! 

If your child is suffering with focusing, being overly hyper or just needing that extra boost during school, give this a shot! I hope it works for you, like it has for The Carr Family!

As a mom you just want your kids to be happy. As long as they are happy, I am happy. At first I had so much fear when I noticed how much Noah was just like me. I know I am far from normal and struggle every day just to think straight. Add that on top of living in a foreign country, being married to a Green Beret who is always gone, a mom of two busy boys, writing a book and running a team of over 3,000 people.. I have what my team calls "Squirrel syndrome". Been there, done that and have the necklace. (No really, I do and it has BLING on it! Thanks Annie!) <3

 I would spend my life working on any "imperfections" they struggle with but I think they are perfect just the way God created them <3 

I am a firm believer that instead of praying for things you want or things to change.. Just say a prayer and give thanks for what you've been given. I am so thankful I have been given the life I have. Yes, including my insane lack of focus and the endless healing possibilities we have with herbs and organic foods. I am thankful God gave me the courage to share mine & Noah's journey with his speech, behavior and motor skill development. I hope it helps another family out there like it helps us!  Don't be afraid to reach out and ask someone for help! 

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Crispy Kale chips- so much better than potato one's!

This is so easy it won't even take 2 minutes to type.

Buy a head of Kale- I get mine on base
Wash it well- spin it in a salad spinner so it doesn't turn out soggy
Cut it into tiny pieces (I don't use the stem)
Sprinkle with some Himalayan pink salt (bought on amazon, click here)
Spritz with some coconut oil, Buy Misto Can -> HERE <-

Preheat the oven to 275 degrees F.

Remove the stems from the kale and cut into 1 1/2-inch pieces.
 Lay on a baking sheet and toss with the coconut oil and salt. 
Bake until crisp, turning the leaves halfway through, about 20 minutes. Serve as finger food.

Voolia! I really do get excited when my hubby surprises me with these! Especially when he sprays some Apple Cider Vinegar on them! Did someone say SALT N' VINEGAR??? (You can find that at the commissary on island!)

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Organic Pumpkin Pie Bread- Did someone say fall???

So I've been craving PUMPKIN but since I am on the Ultimate Reset I could only bake it for my family... it worked. The smell was enough for me and of COURSE I had to taste just one bite... you know, to make sure it was safe for my family to eat ;) 

Ingredients

• 1 1/2 cup mashed cooked pumpkin (canned can be used if you don’t have fresh pumpkin which is what I used while in Okinawa. I used Farmer's Market brand off amazon)
• 3 large organic eggs
• 1 tbsp Organic vanilla extract
• 1/4 cup raw honey
• 1/4 cup coconut oil
• 2 cups organic almond flour
• 1/2 tsp Himalayan salt- Small grinds 
• 1 tsp organic baking soda
• 1 tsp organic pumpkin spice
• 1 tsp organic cinnamon

Directions

1. Preheat oven to 350F.
2. With a whisk or food processor mix pumpkin, eggs, vanilla, raw honey and coconut oil together.
3. Add in the almond flour, salt, cinnamon, pumpkin spice and baking soda and mix well.
4. Pour batter into a well greased 5×9 loaf pan. (I used mini pans) 
5. Bake for 50 minutes.
6. Allow to cool completely before serving.

Serving Size: Makes 10 pieces, Serving size is 1 piece

Nutrition Info

• Calories: 231.1
• Fat: 18.2g
• Carbohydrates: 13.6g
• Protein: 6.9g

Where to find the ingredients while living in Okinawa...

*Canned pumpkin- amazon

*Organic Vanilla- Amazon

*Raw honey- You can get organic online but I also by local honey here as well. Ive heard it's good for local seasonal allergies. - Store posted below

* Organic eggs- Store posted below

*Organic coconut oil- Commissary

*Almond flour- Commissary (Bob Red mills)

*Himalayan salt pink, Amazon

*Organic baking soda, Amazon

*Organic Pumpkin spice, Amazon

*Organic Cinnamon, Amazon

If you haven't already- MOM'S GET AN AMAZON PRIME ACCOUNT FOR FREE! This mean free 2 day shipping which is basically the most amazing thing ever while living here! My referral link is here, thanks for the credit for free food =P

Sign up for a FREE amazon prime account here!

Tenbusu store  Store Hours: Monday to Saturday 12:00 noon to 8:00 pm.

Directions: Take a left turn out of Sgt Major gate on Camp Foster (where Westpac is) and keep going downhill. Turn left at the 329 intersection and go straight. You will pass Living Design Square on your right and keep going in the direction of Comprehensive Park. You will come to a big intersection with a McDonalds on the right side and a Hotto Motto on the left. Turn right at that intersection and continue straight towards Awase Shopping Center on the right. Just beyond the Awase Shopping Center (with ToysRus) two or three buildings down, you will see the Organic and Natural Market on the right side. Go to the next intersection and make a U-turn. There are several parking spaces in front.

Local honey! I found this gem while living in Yomitan! The blueberry honey is amazing! “There are 2 stores. One is on the 58 a bit north of the 6 in Yomitan. It’s the light/corner right after the Pachinko place. It’s on the left but the sign is only in English if you’ve already passed it (on the back). The other is south on 58 just a bit after Foster — that one has a big spoon on the sign. 

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Dark Chocolate, no bake mini drops!

I can't keep these in the house long enough! I pack them in the boys school lunches, it's by far their favorite "dessert"

What you will need:

3 TBS Organic Peanut Butter (or almond butter)
8 TBSP Organic powdered Peanut butter (I like the brand, "Just great stuff")
1/2 cup Quick Organic Oats
3 TBS organic raw honey
1/2 Chocolate SuperFood Shakeology (Found here at www.IAMSN.com) This bag will last a long time for these recipes I will share!

1. Mix Peanut Powder with a dash of water
2. Mix remaining ingredients
3. Roll into ball size amounts (Again, I like the use the scooper!)

And put into the fridge! Your done!

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Organic Dark Chocolate Chip Cookies with Himalayan pink salt!

What you'll need:

• 1 cup organic butter (227 grams)
• 1/2 cup organic white sugar
• 1 cup packed organic brown sugar- I used light organic brown sugar this time because it was all I had left, so they are lighter in color ;)
• *1 egg- organic, free-range 
• 1 tsp organic vanilla
• 2 cups organic flour (290 grams) (I used wheat, but you can use white too!)
• 2 cups organic chocolate chips
• 1 tsp organic baking soda
• 1 tsp Organic Himalayan Salt aka for me a couple cracks (about 4) 

I mix this by hand because I don't have a fancy KitchenAid mixer yet...(that's my first new house warming gift to myself once we buy our first home! http://www.kitchenaid.com/shop/countertop-appliances-1/countertop-appliances-2/stand-mixers-3/-[KP26M1XGA]-401638/KP26M1XGA/

Make Cookies:

Cream together butter, white and brown sugars.

Add egg and vanilla.

Blend in flour and chocolate chips.

Add baking soda, mix just to combine. Then crack in the salt & fold. 

Be careful not to over-mix!

Drop by teaspoonfuls onto a lined baking sheet. ( I LOVE the pampered chef scoopers, I have to many friends that are reps so it wouldn't be fair to promote just one so instead you can find the same version here... http://www.bedbathandbeyond.com/store/product/oxo-good-grips-cookie-scoop/102818

Bake at 350 for about 8-10 minutes.. 

*If you live at a higher altitude (over 1000 feet) you will probably need to add an extra egg and a bit more vanilla to the recipe, otherwise the dough is far too dry and you won't be able to form cookies from it. 

When they come out of the oven KEEP THEM ON THE PAN to cook longer! I leave mine on for about 5 more minutes. Than I put them on a cooling rank to harden for about 5 more minutes! Don't stack them until hard or they will stick together! 

Enjoy!- TC

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